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CHAPTER 12

Unity and Variety.1Now in regard to spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware.
2* You know how, when you were pagans, you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols.a3Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit.b

4* There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;c5there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
6there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
7To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
8To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;d9to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
10to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.e11But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.f

One Body, Many Parts.*12As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.g13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.h

14Now the body is not a single part, but many.
15If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
16Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
18But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.
19If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”
22Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary,
23and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,
24whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
25so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
26If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Application to Christ.*27Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.i28Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles;* second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues.j29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds?
30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
31Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

The Way of Love.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

* [12:1–14:40] Ecstatic and charismatic activity were common in early Christian experience, as they were in other ancient religions. But the Corinthians seem to have developed a disproportionate esteem for certain phenomena, especially tongues, to the detriment of order in the liturgy. Paul’s response to this development provides us with the fullest exposition we have of his theology of the charisms.

* [12:2–3] There is an experience of the Spirit and an understanding of ecstatic phenomena that are specifically Christian and that differ, despite apparent similarities, from those of the pagans. It is necessary to discern which spirit is leading one; ecstatic phenomena must be judged by their effect (1 Cor 12:2). 1 Cor 12:3 illustrates this by an example: power to confess Jesus as Lord can come only from the Spirit, and it is inconceivable that the Spirit would move anyone to curse the Lord.

* [12:4–6] There are some features common to all charisms, despite their diversity: all are gifts (charismata), grace from outside ourselves; all are forms of service (diakoniai), an expression of their purpose and effect; and all are workings (energēmata), in which God is at work. Paul associates each of these aspects with what later theology will call one of the persons of the Trinity, an early example of “appropriation.”

* [12:12–26] The image of a body is introduced to explain Christ’s relationship with believers (1 Cor 12:12). 1 Cor 12:13 applies this model to the church: by baptism all, despite diversity of ethnic or social origins, are integrated into one organism. 1 Cor 12:14–26 then develop the need for diversity of function among the parts of a body without threat to its unity.

* [12:27–30] Paul now applies the image again to the church as a whole and its members (1 Cor 12:27). The lists in 1 Cor 12:28–30 spell out the parallelism by specifying the diversity of functions found in the church (cf. Rom 12:6–8; Eph 4:11).

* [12:28] First, apostles: apostleship was not mentioned in 1 Cor 12:8–10, nor is it at issue in these chapters, but Paul gives it pride of place in his listing. It is not just one gift among others but a prior and fuller gift that includes the others. They are all demonstrated in Paul’s apostolate, but he may have developed his theology of charisms by reflecting first of all on his own grace of apostleship (cf. 1 Cor 3:5–4:14; 9:1–27; 2 Cor 2:14–6:13; 10:1–13:30, esp. 1 Cor 11:23 and 12:12).

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